"A garden that pleases me is a garden…designed with deliberation" – David Hicks

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HYDRANGEA SEASON!

Hydrangea Season is perhaps my favorite time of year. It signals the beginning of summer and triggers memories of summers past to be savored in the peace of the garden.

Long before it was “The Mourning Bench” this area was ‘The Morning Garden’. Here, in the shade of a dogwood, with variegated Boxwoods on either side, I would bring my mug of coffee and notebook to plan the gardening day.

Originally, the bench was surrounded by hydrangeas, struck from cuttings, of the bouquets brought to me by Penny McHenry* on the occasion of my daughter’s wedding. I imagined sitting there embraced by all those hydrangeas and reveling in the happy memories of that time shared with family members and good friends.

Unfortunately, this site was windswept in the winter. Year after year the hydrangeas would die back to the ground. Although they produced luscious foliage every year, there were no flowers. A change needed to be made. I swapped them out for other hydrangeas… ‘Annabelles’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’), these bloom on new wood (i.e. this years growth) so they were perfect for this area. The wedding hydrangeas were moved to a more protected space.

BLOOMING NOW:

(For names of the hydrangeas in this post, hover over photo with mouse.)

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5 thoughts on “HYDRANGEA SEASON!”

There is nothing more Southern than hydrangeas – also gardenias, crepe myrtles, tea olive, Lady Banks roses, camellias – they are so wonderful in our climate down here and such fine additions to our gardens. One of the more beautiful flower arrangements I’ve ever seen had blue hydrangeas, white daisy mums, yellow daylilies, ferns- it was cool looking and so summery – – all massed in a large brass container.

Sandra,
Mama always said you weren’t supposed to have a favorite! Although she did say that her favorite hydrangea was the one she was looking at.
You know I am surrounded with happy memories of my marvelous mama here at Hydrangea Heaven II, as I like to refer to our garden here on our hilltop in Sandy Springs.
Most of my hydrangea are having a stellar year except some of my oldest Penny Mac’s which have been attacked by spider mites and have no blooms this year. I am washing the little buggers off with the hose and applying insecticidal soap. Oh, and of course I am telling them how much I love them and kissing them.
Mama always said that plants respond to love just like people do.
The legacy of her love endures for sure!